Tire for vehicle-wheels.



No. 787,311. PATENTED APR. Il, 1905.

E. A. SCRIBNER.

TIRE POR VEHICLE WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.. 25, 1904.

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Patented April 11, 1905.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFTCE.

ELBRIDGE A. SCRIBNER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- IIIETI'I TO JOHN ll'. KREKELER, ONE-FIFTH TO lVILLIAM W. lYAL- TERS, ONE-FIFTH TO ROBERT Il'. JEAN, ANI) ONE-IPIIV'III TO FREI)- ERICH S. ROSS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

TIRE FOR VEHICLE-WHEELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,311, dated April 11, 1905.

Application tiled March 25,1904. Serial No. 199,933.

Be it known that l, Etui-:rooie A. SomnNcu, a citizen ot' the United States ot' America, residing at Detroit, inthe county of Vayne and State ot Michigan, have invented certain new and use't'ul Improvements in Tires for VehiclelfVheels, ot' which the following is a specilication, re terence being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in resilient tires for vehicle and other wheels;

and its object is to provide a cheap, compact, l

and sightly metal tire formed ot' spring members so constructed and arranged that the same cushioning' eliect is obtained as by the use of a pneumatic tire and the liability ot' breaking under a heavy load reduced to the minimum and also to provide means for dcadening the noise by preventing the transmission ot' the vibrations oi' said springs.

To this end the invention consists in secu ring to the wheel-rim two series of flexible members, eaclrmember being adapted to operate imleperulently ot' the others and to directly contact the ground, forming the tread ot the wheel, and the two series or rows being arranged side by side with the members in one row in staggered relation to those of the other row to t'orm a substantiallyv continuous and smooth tread; and the invention consists also in the particular form of springloop whereby an outer substantiallyv tlat surface is presented to the g'round and whereby the springs will support each other under a heavy load.

The invention further consists in interposing a strip otI resilient or librous material between inner and outer strips forming the wheel-rim to which the spring members are attached to prevent the transmission ot' the vibrations ot' the springs to the wheel and in providingcertain other new and useful t'eatures and the particulararrangement and construction ot' parts, all as hereinafter more t'ully described, and shown in the accompanying drawings. in which-- Figure l is a side elevation ot' a portion ot' l a wheel rim and tire embodying' the invention; Fig. 2, a plan or tace View ot' the same; Fig. 3, a view similar to Fig. l, illustrating the operation of the spring members; and Fig. a is a view showing a modilication in the construction.

As shown in the drawings, A is the wheelrim, consisting' ot an inner strip A', to which the spokes are secured in any suitable manner, and an outer strip Ai, with a strip A:s ot' resilient or librous material, as rubber belting or similar material, between.

The tire B consists ot two strips otl steel B, each bent into a series otl long narrow spring-loops B, each loop extending outward from the rim and bent toward its adjacent loop, with its closed end B near the inclined side Bl of said adjacent loop and its open end B toward the rim, tov which it is attached by bolts C passing' through the straight portions B"y connecting the loops. These loops thus form spring-lingers all inclined in the same direction, and their curved sides B by reason ot' the curve of the lingers are ln'ought to the periphery otl the tire and Vform the tread. The two strips B are secured to the rim in parallelism, with their adjacent edges in close proximity and so that the loops ot one strip will lie opposite the spaces between those of the other strip, and therefore the sides B" ot' the loops ot' bot-h strips together form a practically continuous l'lat tread, yet \ach loop is .tree to bend entirely independent otl the others, and as the wheel rolls over the ground or comes in contact with any projection or obstruction the tire will yield freely at the particular point of contact, and thus has the same cushion ellect as a pneumatic tire. The loops being' long and narrow and bent rearwardly in the plane ol' rotation ot' the wheel form excellent springs giving the greatest resiliency with the least amount ot' breaking strain, as there are no sharp bends and one side ot' each loop supports the other, and as the closed end etl each loop normally lies in such a position that when the loop is compressed said end will Contact the side ol the next loop each loop is reinforced or supported under heavy load by the adjacent loop, as shown in Fig. 3. The wheel is preferably run so that the direction in which the loops extend will be opposite to the direction of movement of the rim, and therefore the loops will not dig into the earth; but at the same time by reason of the independent fiexure of the loops the wheel will take a much firmer hold on the ground than any tire having a continuous tread.

By placing theresilient strip A3 between the inner and outer strips forming the rim the vibrations of the loops or springs are prevented from being transmitted to the inner strip and spokes, and therefore the noise caused by such vibrations will be greatly reduced.

As shown in Fig. 4, the strips B', forming the springs, may be secured to the rim by clamps D instead of by bolts passing through the strips and rim, and, as shown in this tig ure, the strips may be made in sections with one loop to a section, or itis evident that they may be formed of two or more sections having several loops.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is# 1. The combination with a wheel-rim, of a series of spring members each formed of a strip of spring metal bent in the form of a loop extending outward from the rim with its ends secured thereto and said loop bent rearwardly in the plane of rotation of the wheel rim and all bent rearwardly in the plane of rotation of the wheel in one direction, each with its closed outer end above the inclined side of the adjacent loop, the said inclined v sides forming the tread of the tire, and means for securing the loops to the rim. 3. The combination with a wheel-rim,'of parallel strips bent to form a series of elongated loops to extend outward from the rim in the plane of rotation of the wheel and all bent in one directionl to overlap each other, each with its closed and rounded outer end above the inclined side of the adjacent loop and having integral flat portions connecting the loops, and means for securing the strips to the rim engaging the flat portions and with the loops of one strip alternating with the spaces between the loops of the other strip to form a continuous tread.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELBRIDGE A. SCRIBNER. Vitnesses:

OTTO F. BARTHEL, Lnwis E. FLANDERS. 

